


a rose by any other name would have just as many thorns

by littletrenchcoatangel



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Hale Family Feels, M/M, Minor Character Death, Stilinski Family Feels, but really it's just a bunch of words that make an almost drabble, it's funny because this seems like it could be a full length fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-25
Updated: 2012-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletrenchcoatangel/pseuds/littletrenchcoatangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>when your family dies in a fire, the humans call you orphan and treat you like glass</p><p>the wolves call you omega, and they treat you like a target</p><p>he calls you grumpy and pushes you into the guest bedroom</p>
            </blockquote>





	a rose by any other name would have just as many thorns

**Author's Note:**

> I just had feelings so I wrote words and this happened. Don't blame me.
> 
> The arc of this story actually switches a little somewhere in the middle, but I like to think it makes sense, so we'll see how we go.
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> ALSO: It probably won't be triggering for anyone, because there's no detail whatsoever, but since I have absolutely no idea what having a trigger is like, I suppose I should mention that there's a... well, mention, of panic attacks somewhere in here. Like I said, there's no detail, it's just a passing comment, but... yeah. I'd feel terrible if I didn't at least say something about it up here. There's also little hints at things pertaining to a car accident, so. Just in case. There's actually more details about the accident than the attack, so if you know that even a little bit of detail can trigger you, don't read this and put yourself in a position where you'll be uncomfortable. (I'm probably being overcautious but I don't want anyone to go through something they don't have to, especially if they can avoid it. If that makes sense. I mean, you know what triggers you, if anything does, so, I trust your judgement. I just thought I'd do my part and warn you.) If that isn't a problem, then... enjoy, I guess.

i.

when the last of the ash has settled, they turn to you, eyes sad, and tell you

'we're sorry, son'

with naught but pity on their faces, they turn to each other and call you orphan

to the humans this is what you are, but to the wolves, you are an omega, a wolf without a pack

your family's power burns under your skin like the flames that stole them from you, and even though you are an alpha, even though their strength flows through your body just as freely as your blood, you are weak, and you are powerless

to the humans you are vulnerable

to the wolves you are a target

  
ii.

they discover immediately that it was not an accidental fire

there are shards of glass around the origin points of the flames, all of them beside windows, all of them near the remnants of cloth

'home-made firebombs' they tell you 'pretty much just alcohol in a bottle with a flaming rag put in'

you don't care about how they did it, you want to tell them, you just want them caught

 

iii.

they decide the safest place for you is with the sheriff

the first on the scene, after the fire brigade, and a close friend to the deceased

 _the deceased_ , you hate the way they toss that phrase around

as if, after life, they became nothing more than bodies

as if they had become any less your family, any less  _important_ , now that they were gone

you meet his son on that first day and his energy rivals that of your youngest sibling in the happiest mood

he is happy all the time, and all it does is remind you of what you have lost

(he calls you grumpy, and despite everything, you find yourself grinning just a little every time)

 

iv.

the anger burrows under your skin, flows alongside your inherited power, and you find yourself shifting more and more often in the early hours of the morning, before the sun has risen and you are forced to live another day under the pretense of normal

it grows as you grow as he grows

and his happiness does not waver

(he catches you growling at a stray dog in the yard and he laughs before playfully telling you to  _sit, boy, now who's a good doggy_ )

 

v.

somewhere along the way, his presence brings calm instead of sadness

you are not yet happy, but your anger settles

 

vi.

you smell it long before they notice

the cancer

she is weak and they do not see it

she is dying and they do not notice

she sees the doctor on a thursday morning, you smell it on her when she gets home, alongside the coffee and the salt of her tears

you tell her you know and she nods

she tells you she knows what you are, and she does not flinch when your eyes flash red to make sure

you suppose your mother was better friends with her than you thought

(she calls you son, and he starts calling you bro when he finds out)

 

vii.

she is lying in a hospital bed, the sheriff has gone to get a coffee and he is lying asleep on the chair to her left

you offer her the bite and she refuses before you can finish your request

'i can fix you. i can stop you from hurting.'

'i understand, but i don't want it. i won't risk losing my humanity.'

from anyone else it would sound almost like an insult

from her it sounds like a request to die in peace

even through this, his happiness does not waver

if anything, it only gets stronger

becomes brighter while she grows darker

(he calls you by your name, now, and nothing else)

 

viii.

each day you take a little of her pain, but you only ever offer the bite once more, when the sheriff is picking him up from school

she smiles at you and refuses once again, but she says thank you for the offer and sighs in relief as you take as much of her pain as you can bear

she takes your hand when you collapse beside her, thanks you again and tells you to look after her boys

you say you will and she dies in peace

you are the only one in the room

(no one says anything for a very long time)

 

ix.

his resolve crumbles when he sees her still form on the hospital bed

another takes its place when he sees you still there, her hand clutched in yours and no tears on your face

his anger replaces his happiness and you finally let her go so that you can comfort him just as he comforted you, all those years ago

(he calls you all kinds of names, some you've never heard before, and you let him, because what harm can words do when the softest grip tore your heart from your slowly healing chest)

 

x.

you cannot give him physical comfort, you cannot hold him like his mother would have, and you cannot give him words

he does not want to hear them, he forces himself not to hear anything his father says, instead he takes his anger out on his fists and on your chest

you let him, because you cannot give him anything else

eventually he falls against you, there are tears on his cheeks and with the last shadows of his anger he clutches at your shirt as if by tearing your clothes he could tear his mother from the hands of death

you cannot hold him like his mother would have, but you can hold him in a way that will comfort him

you hold him in a way no one but him ever tried to hold you

(he calls you murderer, but you both know he does not mean it)

 

xi.

somewhere, in the space between her funeral and the first anniversary, your anger fades

his happiness has not returned, and neither has your own, but his energy has come back with a vengeance, and alongside it, more pills

his panic attacks hurt you just as much as they hurt him, which is to say they only cause a little bit of heavy breathing in the aftermath, as well as guilt when you realise his father can hear you

the walls are not as thick as you think

 

xii.

in the middle of the night, you realise you are no longer an omega

you have found a new pack

 

xiii.

when you leave, he begs you not to go

his anger resurfaces, and you let him attack you

he's stronger now, but he still cannot hurt you

you press an unexpected kiss to his forehead and pack your bags into the taxi, not looking back, even as you hear his first shuddering breath as he cries

(he calls you all the things he called you that night in the hospital, and a number of names he learnt in the yard at school)

 

xiv.

his father is at the airport when you fly back a week early, and his face looks as grim as ever

'he misses you'

he doesn't need to say it - the voicemail his son left on your phone says enough

you tell him you need to see him, and he takes you to the hospital without even stopping to let you drop your bags at home

(he called you baby in the message, and darling, and sweetheart, but all of that passed through one ear and out the other when you heard him sob your name like a prayer of hope after the horrifying crunch of metal against metal filled the tiny speaker of your phone)

 

xv.

he calls you an idiot as soon as you walk into the room

you tell him he's a hypocrite and he laughs until he coughs, and even then, he doesn't stop

 _why didn't you tell me,_  he asks

_i waited for years for you to give me a sign, just a single hint, and the moment after you did, you left me crying on the curb as you went off to find a whole other life_

you haven't got an answer, so you don't waste your time in giving him one, you just kiss him and take some of his pain away

(he calls you a slow poke and pulls you back in for another kiss)

 

xvi.

he takes seven months to heal completely, both physically and psychologically, even though he still flinches when he sees a car in his peripheral vision, and in that time you tell him about your adventures around the world, and how you never quite felt at home in any of the places you stayed

you also tell him your most closely guarded secret and he laughs and tells you he already knew

'the walls in that house aren't as thick as you think, puppy dog'

 

xvii.

when your family dies in a fire, they call you orphan and treat you like glass

or, at least, the humans do

the wolves call you an omega, and they treat you like a target

but him

he calls you grumpy and pushes you into the guest bedroom

(a decade and a half later, he does the exact same thing, except you're fairly sure he's got something other than monopoly on his mind)

 

**Author's Note:**

> Semi-AU where Derek is the lone survivor of the Hale fire, and he gets sent to live with the Stilinskis, who are close family friends. Mama Stilinski is alive for a little while, but she eventually dies of cancer. She knows Derek is a werewolf, but she refuses the bite when he offers and he's the only one there when she dies, and in the aftermath, things happen. (I'm terrible at explaining things, shut up.)
> 
> Basically Derek and Stiles grow up together after the fire and a couple of things happen, and Stiles always calls Derek by a different name.
> 
> /how even do you title and intentionally wrongly placed summary


End file.
